After Henry, Before Rome
by MyraDLG
Summary: Written to follow TKAA. Gio/Betty. Gio helps Betty with her softball, and Betty starts to get over Henry by spending more time with Gio.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note_: My first posted fanfic...wow. I've been reading Jane Austen fic at other sites for about 10 years! I've only co-written a tiny part of one joke-of-a-fic for a challenge that was ever posted, and I've been writing my very own fic for that site for 7 years now, still incomplete, I am just reaaaally slow, but I knew myself well enough that I never started posting it. Anyway, that's where I'm coming from.

I have been loving the character of Gio ever since he showed up, and TKAA sent me into full-blown obsession. I started writing this like the next day--and as I was lurking the Ugly Betty site, I found you all. I wish there was more Getty fic to go around, so here's my offering. My goal was to get them to kiss again before Thursday's finale, which if it goes the way I'm hoping for, will inspire more great Getty mush! (Hint, hint) I've been writing this all during the week, rushing to post before Thursday because I know after that, I won't be able to concentrate!

Please let me know if you read it! Thanks to the other authors for posting.

**After Henry, Before Rome...A Gio and Betty Fanfic**

**Part One**

"…_I want to be __**the**__ guy."_

**()()()**

I went inside and found Hilda—I thought she'd be asleep but she was on the sofa, gushing to Justin about Coach Diaz. Justin went to bed and Hilda told me about the coach—_Tony_—and I told her about my night and Gio.

"Oh, Betty, that is so sweet! You should be happy!"

"Happy!? Happy? What do I have to be happy about? My boyfriend—ex-boyfriend—left me, and I just got turned down by _Gio_!"

"_Yes_, you should be happy. Listen, guys can tell when all you want is a rebound thing, and ooh let me tell you, they will take full advantage! I _told_ you he was nice."

"Hildaaaaa," I whined.

"It felt good, didn't it?" my sister gave me a knowing look.

"Yeah, it did."

"And you're starting to think, 'maybe life does go on, maybe I can find someone else'…eh?"

"I know what you're trying to say and you're wrong—I am not trying to use Gio to boost my self-esteem, okay? I _was_ feeling a little lonely and I _did_ have a lot of fun with him tonight…but I have been friends with him for a while now and if I like him…" I was suddenly remembering Gio's words to me in the deli, "…then there's nothing wrong with that!"

**()()()**

I didn't talk to Gio for a week. I concentrated on work, I spent more time with my family now that I wasn't trying to spend every spare moment with Henry, and I stopped crying every night. I traded my Kleenex box for a pen and I wrote every night that week. And I did everything I could to avoid seeing Gio.

I did hear about him though. Hilda was at the school on some excuse to see Coach Diaz and saw Gio picking up his sister. They didn't talk, but he waved 'hello' and then left. And, I got a really annoying email from Mark with a picture of Gio at the deli talking to some woman. She was wearing a short skirt with these really tacky shoes and I totally don't even care that he was talking to her. I bet she came in there with some sorry excuse, like to use the phone or something. He looked really bored. Not that I spent that much time analyzing the picture, I'm just saying he looked bored. Maybe Mark paid her…

Ok, whatever, anyway, I saw Gio today. I don't think he saw me. If he did, then he's avoiding me too. I was coming out of Daniel's office and I saw Gio leaving. My first impulse was to hide. But I didn't have to, Gio didn't turn around, so I just stood there and watched him go. I still don't know what he was doing there. I asked Amanda if any sandwiches had been delivered – ugh, I walked into _that_ one! She let me have it, as usual.

So, it's been bugging me all day, why did he come to Mode and then not talk to me? What was he going to say? I think I've made everything worse by avoiding him. Now _that_ will be a _thing_, like 'why were you avoiding me' and it'll be awkward, like things aren't already going to be awkward no matter what after he basically told me how he felt.

_(sigh)_

_I could just avoid him forever…_

My heart sunk at the thought. I don't know what I want from him right now. I'm pretty sure I know what he wants though. I'm not ready! I just had my heart broken! It's _still_ broken! Why couldn't he just be a friend and keep it simple? Why did he have to go and _declare_ himself? Why did he have to act so sweet that night? Why did I open my big mouth and ask him out? What was I thinking! I'm just going to have to watch how I act around him so I don't say or do anything that could lead him on and make him think I'm ready for a serious boyfriend. I'm not over Henry. It's only been three weeks. _Henry_…

Thank God for work. I got through the rest of the day just fine—better than fine. I feel great! Claire Meade asked to see me and she wants me to write another article for _Hot Flash_! I started to pick up the phone to call Gio, but I was too chicken to dial the number. I know he'd be happy for me though. Why am I making this weird? If I wasn't over-analyzing this whole situation and I just went with my impulse, then I'd just go see him. As soon as I leave work, I'll just stop by his deli and say hello, no big deal!

I was really calm about seeing Gio again until I got right outside the shop's door. I knew those bells on the door were going to jingle when I went in and he'd be right there at the counter and he'd look up and see me -- why did I think I could just come down here and tell him about my day like usual?

Suddenly, I had no choice. I heard an "Excuse me…" as a couple walked past me through the door. The doorbells jingled, Gio looked up, and I saw him start when he saw me.

"Uh…hey…welcome to Gio's Sandwiches, what can I get ya?" Gio's attention was on his customers and so I went in and took a seat. I was really relieved to have a few minutes to get my nerves under control, and really, why should I be nervous, he's the one that should be nervous. _Just act normal and see how he acts_…

The couple got their food to go. _Ugh_. I was kind of hoping they'd stay and eat. I was being such a chicken.

Gio walked over to me, drying his hands on a towel. "Hey…"

"Hey!" I said, perking up, big fake smile plastered on my face. I waited for him to say something but of course he didn't, he just stood there looking at me. He didn't even have the manners to look shy or embarrassed! And he was standing just a bit too close, staring right into my eyes and not talking, so I guess he was just going to make me do all the work. _Fine_…

"Wow, I can't believe it's Friday already! This week has sure flown by! Work has been crazy—Daniel's charity softball event is next weekend, and I've been ordering uniforms—orange and silver, blech, I know—and there's catering, and promos, and sponsorships. It's going to be a lot of fun. Can't you just see Wilhemina in an orange softball uniform? Ha-ha-ha…._ahem_ … so…how was your week?"

_Oh my gosh, I am such a freak._

"Um…it was okay I guess."

I saw something in Gio's eyes like confusion.

"What do you have planned for the weekend?" _Oh crap, I hope that didn't come across like a hint that I want to do something together…_I saw the corner of his mouth twitch. I knew that smirk. Yep, there it was…_the arrogant little…_

"Why, Betty? What did you have in mind?"

"Nothing! I was just making conversation!"

"You came all the way over here just to talk to me?—"

"No!"

"—I'm flattered, really, and if I didn't have this party tray to make in the next half hour…what? _No_?" He started back to the other side of the counter. "Then why did you come here, Betty?"

"Uh…" I looked around me as if the answer was written on the menu board. "Can I use your phone?"

He laughed out loud. "You want to use my phone? Ok, sure. What's wrong with your cell phone?"

"Nothing." _Crap. Crap. Crap._

"_Come on_, Betty. You can do better than this. Don't make me start quacking at you again…"

I looked up at him and I could see he wanted to laugh at me. And then I got a little mad. Why was I feeling so defensive and why wasn't he trying to make this a little easier. He had a mouth, he knew how to use it—I mean, for talking, to talk with. _Oh no, he saw me looking at his mouth…_

"So, how did your article come out, the one you wrote for Claire Meade?" He started slicing cheese.

I felt relief and this huge smile broke over my face as I told him my news.

He stopped what he was doing to look at me. He had this huge grin, "That's great! Wow, good for you, Betty. Your plan is in motion. Won't be long and you'll be asking me for ideas for what to call your magazine."

"Uh, no—you'd probably call it, 'Betty's Magazine'." I rolled my eyes. "I think I can handle coming up with a name."

"Well, you're the writer."

"Yes I am."

"So, Betty the Writer, what's this next article going to be about."

Things were finally feeling like normal again. The air between us felt relaxed. I came to lean on the counter and watch him work, and I could have easily told him about my day or Hilda and the Coach, or anything else, but no, I can't explain why exactly I opened the topic with him, but I did…

"Well, I was thinking of writing the article on rebound relationships." I glanced up at him to see his reaction. He winced and I could see a glint in his eyes.

His voice was low, "I was glad I could help you on previous assignments, but I think I'm going to sit this one out." He gave me a mocking smile and took the tray back to the cooler. He was back immediately. "I've got it. Drop the rebound thing and write your article about friendship between men and women—how to handle things when the man wants more." He raised his eyebrows defiantly at me.

"Are you volunteering…"

He dropped his eyes and laughed to himself. "I thought I already had."

"Um, okay…so…well in your opinion, how could the woman go about keeping the friendship if she _wasn't ready_ for more? How would they stay friends?" I gulped and pushed up my glasses.

It took him a minute to answer. His head dropped a little while he thought over what I said. I felt bad about it, using the 'friend' word on him. He had made it clear he wanted to be my boyfriend, so what I had just asked couldn't have been welcome to his ears. I suddenly felt like a jerk.

"I think first off, she'd have to figure out if she thought she _could_ ever feel more for this man in the future or if she already knew there was no way. If she knew there was no hope for him, it'd be better not to keep stringing him along."

I knew from the way he was looking at me, with that intensity in his eyes, that he knew that I _did_ feel something. He _knew_ that I liked him—_ugh_! But I didn't even want to call it that! Then what? The word 'attraction' popped into my head, and I squashed it as fast as I could. But…there was _something_, even if I didn't want to put a word on it.

I started to straighten the take-home menus on the countertop. "And what if she did?"

"Did what?" He popped a salami wedge into his mouth and started to clean the slicer.

"Feel something. I mean, what if she might…in the future…"

"I dunno, Betty…" he sighed and leaned against the back counter, folding his arms against his chest. He just stared at me for the longest time, I swear, it was so hard _not_ to fidget. Finally, he stood all the way up and walked around the counter. He walked right up to me and I just stood there looking at him like a deer caught in the headlights. He leaned into me, and reached past me to grab a set of keys next to the register. Then he winked at me and walked off to the door to lock it and turn off the "Open" sign.

He walked back to the counter and stood in front of me, kind of propping himself against the counter with his elbow. "I think it would be a good idea if the friends got to know each other better. Hang out as friends. Talk about stuff. Figure out a little bit more about what they have in common. I don't think it takes that long for people to figure out what they want to do, whether or not they want to be with someone or not. I think if the guy really likes a girl, then he'd be willing to wait. I _know_ I am."

And there was that look again. The one that made my chest tighten, the one that made it hard to breathe.

"Okay………okay." I shuffled my feet a bit nervously. "Alright, good. That sounds good. We'll hang out as friends."

"Okay," he agreed softly.

I started to feel like I needed to get out of there. "Well, I guess I should be going. There's a football game tonight and I promised Justin I'd go…"

"Justin is playing football?" Gio looked a little worried.

"No, no, no…Hilda worked something out with Justin's P.E. coach—Justin's been choreographing the cheerleading routines for extra-credit."

"Ah." Gio walked me to the door and started unlocking the deadbolt. The silence, I have to say, was a _little_ uncomfortable.

"Thanks for stopping by, Betty. It was good to see you…" Gio held the door open for me. I considered for a moment to ask him why he was in the office today, but I held back the question. It really didn't matter now.

I took a deep breath as I turned to go – there was that scent, something like soap and citrus – I stopped and turned towards him, "Thank you…"

"For what?" he said, searching my eyes with his.

"For being my friend. I missed our talks this week."

He smiled down at me and it looked like he was going to say something but he stopped and said, "Me too…'night, Betty…"

"Goodnight. And, oh yeah, your order is going to be late…" I gave him a smug look before he shoved me the rest of the way out the door and locked it. I watched him run back to the counter and cover that last tray and then he disappeared into the back of the deli. I headed for my train and yeah, I couldn't help smiling to myself a few times along the way.

**Part Two**

I spent the weekend working on my article for _Hot Flash_. I didn't write about rebound relationships or men/women friendships. _Write what you know_—that's always been good advice. So, I wrote about breaking up. I'm still really, really sad—whenever I'm not busy, then I'm thinking about Henry. I really thought he was _the one_. Everything would have been so perfect…if only.

Anyway, I wouldn't have time to wallow this week, not with the softball game coming up. And with everything I have to do, Daniel told me that I'm going to have to _play_ in the game—I don't play softball or baseball or football! I told Gio all about it when I saw him before lunch. We were unpacking sandwiches in the conference room.

"Well, I don't think you have to worry about it--how much competition can a bunch of models be anyway? They probably can't even lift a bat. You'll be fine…look, if you're that worried about it, I could help you, you know, give you a few pointers, pitch the ball for you, get some practice in before the game."

"Uh, yeah, sure. Thanks, Gio," I smiled at him quickly, but I suddenly felt awkward.

"You want to go today, don't you? It's cool. I'll run home and get my stuff, you just meet me at the deli when you're done today."

"Oh, okay…" I started to protest, just to be polite of course, but then Gio tapped his watch and shrugged innocently as he left me in mid-sentence.

**()()()**

Gio took me to a park near my neighborhood and we put on our gloves and started tossing the ball back and forth. At first, things were so comfortable that we were laughing and throwing sarcastic remarks at each other; it was great. But something I said made me think of Henry; I remembered him telling me he love me right before he left that last time.

"What's wrong?" Gio plainly asked.

"I'm feeling guilty," I said with a sigh.

"Why?"

"_Because_ Gio, I'm here with you…and I'm still thinking about Henry…"

"Oh well, that's probably normal. But I don't want you feeling guilty for me—just try and have fun…"

"No, I feel guilty because of _Henry_—I feel like I'm betraying him by hanging out with another guy."

"Oh." Gio tossed the ball back twice more before he stopped suddenly. "I don't get it, Betty--he's _gone_. He went to Arizona with Charlie and his baby—you shouldn't feel guilty for trying to have a life of your own. _He's_ having one--in _Arizona_, ok? He made his choice. Am I right, or am I right?"

"What _choice_ did he have, Gio, it's not like he had much of one—"

"Oh, he had a choice!"

"That's easy for you to say, you're not the one with a baby—Henry did the only honorable thing he could do!"

"No, that's just what you tell yourself."

"It is not."

"It is too."

"It is not, it's the _truth_; and what would _you_ have done differently, then, Mr. I-Know-Everything-Expert-of-What's-Right-And-Wrong?"

"I would have asked you to marry me."

"What?"

"Don't say you hadn't thought of it. He _could_ have, and he didn't. Isn't any part of you mad about that?"

Angry tears stung my eyes. I swallowed hard and willed myself not to cry. I decided not to answer him right away and I just held my breath until I felt like I could exhale without shuddering. When the threat of emotion had passed, I looked up at him and saw him watching me,

"Betty, I'm sorry…"

I sat down right where I stood. He walked over to me and stood there a moment before finally sitting down. I just stared at the grass trying to arrange my feelings into coherent words.

"No, Gio, I'm the one who should be sorry, and I am. You're right and…you haven't done anything to deserve _this_" I motioned all around me. I felt him touch my hand, it startled me, but I didn't pull away because I thought it would hurt his feelings. I looked up and there was something so reassuring in his smile,

"Neither did you. You didn't deserve any of this either." He gave my hand a squeeze and then moved to stand up. He held a hand out to me, "And I should know, being an expert and everything."

I rolled my eyes and sighed heavily. The whole talk had been a release for me, and somehow, I actually felt better—more like _me_ and less like a mask. I took his hand and he helped me up.

"You want to practice some more?"

"Um….nah, that's okay. The sun is going down and uh…"

"What, are you going to turn into a pumpkin?"

I grimaced and said, "No, that's this weekend—you'll see, when I'm in that orange uniform—Go Team Mode! Blech!"

"This I've got to see, Suarez. I'll bring my camera. I'll get a nice 8x10 printed out. You can autograph it and I'll hang it up in the deli."

"Great. That's just great." I glared at him but I had to smile. We packed up the gear and started walking across the park to his van. He stopped at the swings. I sent him a questioning look. He cocked his head to the side and said, "Come on."

I watched him as he walked over and picked out a swing, but I wasn't far behind. Truth was, I kind of wanted to anyway. I was swinging as fast and as high as I could and then I just let myself glide. I felt the air on my face and breathed in the smell of the cut grass. I closed my eyes and listened to the sounds of the park. I heard Gio sigh and it brought me back to Earth. He was just barely swaying in his seat and just sort of staring across the park. He was watching the sunset. I slowed to stop and I studied his profile. He had a nice face…I noticed he kept his sideburns longer than Henry's. _It was just an observation_. Sideburns wouldn't really suit Henry. But they looked good on Gio…

"You're staring at me, Suarez," Gio smirked at me with half-opened eyes.

"You have a very round head." I said simply.

He snorted. "I guess that's better than square…"

"Why did you cut your hair so short anyway?"

"Don't you like it? I know…you can't run your fingers through it, but don't worry, it'll grow back."

"Actually…I like it better this way…"

Gio got off the swing. "Then maybe I'll leave it short. _Flirt_."

_Ugh_! I glared at him as I walked by. I didn't have to look back; I knew he was right behind me, probably laughing to himself. He was such a _boy_ sometimes! "I wasn't flirting," I grumbled under my breath. He heard me.

"Wow. It must be like second-nature for you then, you don't even realize you're doing it…"

"All I said was you have a round head. It's like a bowling ball you know."

"Do you bowl?"

"What? Yeah, I mean, I used to…"

"But you don't anymore? Why not?"

We were at the van and Gio unlocked the doors and put the gear in the back. We got in and buckled up. "I was on a team with my boyfriend –"

"Henry…" Gio started the engine but he just sat there letting it idle.

"No…Walter." I looked over at him. I could see he was thinking and then he kind of shook his head, with a little smile.

"Walter. Was he a Mode guy too?" Gio started to drive and I felt suddenly very pensive.

"No, he was from the neighborhood…_before_ I started working at Mode…" I looked out the window, remembering. There was no pang left in my heart over Walter. I wondered if it would ever be like that when I thought of Henry.

"So, do you ever run into him?" Gio had both hands on the steering wheel. I sensed he was forcing himself to sound conversational. I watched him, now I was studying the other side of his profile, and yeah, his head was just as round from the right side.

"No, he moved. He got a promotion." My voice sounded healthy I thought, for being on the subject of exes. "All his family still live in the neighborhood, so I know he comes home for holidays and things. But we haven't stayed in touch."

"Tough break, Suarez…"

"Wait a second, he didn't leave me, I broke up with him!"

"Oh yeah?" Gio gave me a sidelong glance. "Why'd you do that?"

"I wasn't in-love with him anymore. I don't even think now that I really ever loved him, not the way people should love the person they're going to marry—"

"You were going to _marry_ him?" Gio seemed surprised. "Just seems kind of young…"

"Yeah, I guess it was. I guess you could say I was just going along with what I thought I was supposed to do. _Don't_. I know what you're going to say. I'm not that person anymore—"

Gio opened his mouth to argue, but I interrupted him, "I'm getting better anyway. And I guess I have _you_ to thank for that!" I could see that I'd surprised him. He looked pleased and I could see a grin tugging at his cheek, but he was fighting it.

"I only picked the lock, you're the one that wrecked that trophy case…"

I laughed at the memory. "Yeah, yeah. But I wasn't talking about that. What you said about just _being_…that and…what you said tonight." I tucked my chin and stared at my hands in my lap.

Gio shifted in his seat.

"I wanted Henry to propose and I have been justifying it in my head why he didn't. I have been defending him and feeling sorry for him and feeling guilty about wishing he'd picked _me_, which isn't right, I know it's not, but I keep thinking there was another way and for whatever reason, he didn't want to try!" I let the window down to get a little fresh air. Gio was being way too quiet and I remembered who I was talking to. It wasn't fair to go on too much about Henry to Gio, or that I kept taking out my frustration on him. "I guess you were right. I am a little mad." I glanced at him and he looked thoughtful at first, but then he seemed to relax.

We pulled up to my house. I started to get out and I noticed Gio didn't look like he was coming. "Are you hungry? You want to come in for dinner?"

He looked like he was thinking about it, but he started to shake his head. "Thanks, but I gotta get home. Maybe next time…you still need some more practice, your batting really stinks, Suarez." He grinned at me, and I laughed, and it seemed friendly, but then I caught that look in his eye--just like the night of the dance when he told me he wanted to be _the guy_. I looked away first.

"Okay, well I'll see you later then…thanks again…"

"Goodnight, Betty."

I walked to the door and unlocked it. I turned to wave before I went in; he was watching to make sure I got in okay. I could smell dinner and hear the TV. But I strained my ears for Gio's van until I couldn't hear it anymore. I sighed at the thought of another long night ahead—_just keep busy_, I told myself, and headed for the kitchen.

**Part Three**

"Are you sure this thing is safe?" I grimaced as a baseball hit the back of the batting cage next to us.

"Sure. Watch me." Gio popped a quarter in the machine and took a batter's stance. He made it look easy. _Annoying_. "You're up!"

I got into position. I felt stupid especially with Gio watching me, but I just held my head up and got ready to swing. Strike. Then another. This was hopeless.

The machine was waiting for another quarter but Gio didn't start another round. "Hold on, hold on, wait a second. You need to get your elbow up. And don't be afraid of the ball. Here…" Gio came up behind me.

"What are you doing?" I asked, looking over my shoulder at him.

"May I?" Gio opened his arms and I just shrugged at him and faced the other way, waiting. His arms came around me to grab the bat. I felt his leather watchband against my wrist and his fingers around mine. "I'll do a few slow swings so you can feel it—hey, could you please concentrate here? I know it's hard to keep your eyes off me, Suarez, but you need to keep 'em on the ball…"

"Can you just not breathe in my ear? It tickles…" I felt my face burning. "You are so conceited…"

"Okay, do you feel that? Got the angle? You just need to get the bat from here…to here. Like that." Gio had strong arms. And he was warm. This time being in his arms was starting to feel almost familiar. _What if…I let myself enjoy it?_ I felt _really_ thirsty all of a sudden. "Close your eyes…" he told me.

"Okay…?" I closed my eyes. _Oh my gosh_ _this felt good…_

"Now visualize it—see yourself swing, _feel_ the contact…"

"Okay, okay, I think I got it!" I shrugged him off of me and hoped he hadn't noticed how hard I was breathing. He walked over to his cooler and pulled out a couple of beers. "That's not for me is it? I'll just have water." He smirked and put back the other bottle. I practiced a few swings on my own.

"I thought you liked root beer." He nudged me with an icy water bottle.

"Hey!" I took the water from him. "Thanks. I do. Water is fine though…" I had another sip and then set the bottle down and popped a quarter in the machine. I had a few more strikes and then—_Contact_!

"Yes!!" I jumped up and down. Then another hit. "I think I'm getting this!"

"Nice one, Suarez…" Gio's smile was all over his face. It made me pause—he reminded me of a happy little boy just then, and not for the first time, I thought he was cute. He grabbed a few quarters from the stack and went around to the batting cage next to me.

I practiced about a quarter of an hour more and then I felt my arms starting to hurt. I grabbed my water and sat down on a bench to watch Gio bat. He told me about his day, he told me funny stories from the deli, and he never missed hitting a pitch. The whole time, he was talking, cracking jokes, and making me laugh.

I didn't notice the time, but he did. "Is that invitation still open for dinner?"

"Oh! Uh, yeah!" I got to my feet and checked my watch. The time had flown by. "We'd better hurry though!"

We packed up and walked back to the van. The sun was nearly set as we made our way across the neighborhood to my house.

"Hey, I finished my article…"

"Oh yeah? Did it get the Meade stamp of approval?"

"Well, I haven't submitted it yet—I feel really protective of this one. Maybe after dinner you could take a look at it and tell me what you think…if you want…"

Gio raised an eyebrow at me. "Sure…but, I don't know how good my opinion will match up with Claire Meade's or any of her menopausal readers."

"You can just tell me if it's okay or totally awful."

"You wrote it, Betty, it's not going to be awful." There was that reassuring smile again.

"Who's flirting now?" I gave him a smug look. The momentary self-conscious grin he made gave me a little rush of pleasure. I admitted it to myself, _but not to him!_

I don't think we talked much the rest of the way home; he flipped on the radio and we just listened to the music for what was left of the short drive. When we walked in the house, the TV was on, Dad was in the kitchen, and Justin was setting the table. Everyone said 'Hey' and the look Justin sent Dad was barely noticeable. Just then, Hilda came in the back door.

"Okay, I'm done for the day and I'm off to play! Oh, Betty, good, you're home…_Hey_, _Gio_…Oy, I gotta change!" Like a whirlwind, she was gone and up the stairs.

"Set a place for Gio, please!" I said to Justin and then I nudged Gio in the arm, "Come on, you can wash up in here…"

I showed Gio the bathroom and then went up to my room, Dad's voice on my heels, "Hurry up! Everything's ready!"

Hilda met me at my door. "So, what's up with you and Gio, huh? This is two nights this week—I thought he told you he didn't think dating was a good idea?"

"_Hilda_!" I squeezed past her into my room and closed the door. "It wasn't a date, okay? Gio is just helping me practice for the Mode softball game—Daniel's making me play."

Hilda was at my closet rummaging around. She threw a shirt at me. "Wear that, it looks good with your hair. Poor Gio. To think he's liked you all this time and you're always so mean to him!"

"I am not _mean_ to him! At least I don't try to be, but you don't know how he pushes my buttons! I never see him do it to anyone else—"

"Give him a chance, Betty—he's always helping you out when you need it. He's been a pretty good friend—I'm sorry, I know you're not over Henry yet, but I hate to see you pass up a good thing."

Hilda had been brushing out my hair the whole time she was defending Gio. "I know. But…you know I tried already, Hilda. _He_ turned me down…"

"Yeah right, he really stuck to that, didn't he? Which is why he's downstairs right now…mmm, Betty, just be careful with him, ok?" Hilda patted my shoulder and left.

I stared at myself in the mirror for a minute thinking. _It had been a good day, hadn't it? Work was busy and the batting cages had been fun…_I suddenly had a mental image of Gio helping me swing the bat, his breath on my neck, his voice when he told me to close my eyes…

"Betty! Vaminos!" Dad was at the bottom of the stairs calling for me. I grabbed my notebook and hurried downstairs. A moment later we all heard Hilda at the door, "I'm going! Don't wait up!"

Dinner was great and Justin and Dad did a good job of keeping up the conversation. I noticed that Gio was a little quiet though. He smiled and laughed at the right times and he answered any direct questions, but otherwise he didn't say much. Justin finished first and made some excuse about homework and went up stairs. A minute later we heard music coming from his room.

"Ay, that song, _again_. He's played it so much I think I'm starting to like it." Dad laughed.

I leaned over to Gio to explain, "The cheerleaders are going to perform next week to that."

"Ah…"

"It's good to see you eating like you used to, mija," Dad got up to clear the table.

"Dad, sit down, come on, I'll take care of it."

"It's fine, go ahead and finish…"

I started to argue again, but Gio said, "I think we got it covered, Mr. Suarez…right Betty?"

"Yeah, go on Dad, you're going to miss your show…"

Dad glanced up at the kitchen clock, "Ayeee, I missed the first five minutes already!" He squeezed my shoulder as he hurried by to the living room.

Gio got up and started clearing the rest of the dishes away. "You got a really nice family, Betty, really nice."

"Thanks…"

"Kind of reminds me of my family…except there's about eight more of us."

I went to the sink and started filling it with hot, soapy water. Gio came up beside me and laid a stack of plates into the water, elbowing me as he did it. I elbowed him back.

"Owwwww, be gentle with me…" he laughed and started to take off his leather watchband.

"Hey, what are you doing?" I said bossily. His dark brown eyes stared down at me.

"I'm going to wash."

"No you're not. I'll wash, you dry. Towels are in that drawer."

"Yes ma'am."

We worked side by side with an occasional elbow nudge or bump of the hip.

"Stop…" I couldn't even say it without starting to giggle.

"You stop."

"You started it."

"It's that music…I see what your dad means, it kind of grows on you. My hips can't help themselves…"

I knew he was grinning at me; I didn't even have to look. I started to giggle softly; something about the way he danced.

"It's good to see you laughing, B," his voice was low and soft.

"Yeah, well…I can't help laughing when I look at you…and…I'm glad you're here." I looked up at him then, just to give him a very sincere smile as a sign of my gratitude I guess, but my smile faded when his eyes started searching mine. My eyes drifted down to his mouth – I was aching to kiss him. I kind of shook my head at my own weakness and turned away. We were done with the dishes anyway.

I got out my notebook and took out what I'd written. He folded the dishtowel and then came to sit at the table. I placed my article in front of him and then waited. I paced the kitchen, stared out the kitchen window, and tried not to hover. When he finished, he straightened the pages into a neat stack and got up from the table to walk over to me.

"Ouch," he said, looking at me with concern.

"That bad?" I felt panic rising up through me.

"No, it wasn't bad. What you wrote was good…but painful…" he made a wincing expression and folded his arms across his chest. He studied me for a moment.

"Okay….uh, well, anything else?" I went to the table and tucked my papers into my notebook. I had really wanted to show my writing to someone but now I was starting to feel too exposed.

"I didn't expect that…I thought you were going to write about something else…"

"Well…I think my own experience gave it an honest tone. I just wonder how the Hot Flash readers will relate; I wonder if a breakup at fifty feels the same as at twenty-four….Ugh, I hope I never find out!" The thought was revolting.

"Ah, I don't think you'll have to worry about that."

"Do you want to stay a while longer…watch some of Dad's novella with us? He totally gets into it, but I am cracking up most of the time."

Gio's eyes looked towards the living room. He smiled and started to shake his head.

"Come on, I know you'll be good at it!" I felt my mood soaring almost to giddiness. And I could see I'd piqued his interest.

"Good at it? Good at what?" My grin was contagious and he was grinning back at me as I hooked his arm with mine and led him out of the kitchen.

"See, Dad and Justin, they actually care what's going on. Hilda and me, we just like making fun of the awful plots, bad makeup and over-acting. You've _got_ to have a side-kick when watching one of Dad's novellas or it just doesn't work!"

We took up seats on the sofa; Dad was in his favorite chair, closest to the TV. He had a pained look on his face. At that, we were already snickering. I don't know if Gio meant to sit close to me or if it was unintentional, but I have to say, I didn't avoid it. It felt good. I liked being close to someone. And it made each other's sarcastic mumblings about Dad's soap opera easier to hear. He relaxed a little more into the sofa and his leg leaned into mine. I didn't move (and why should I, he was the one in _my_ space) –besides I liked it. A lot. Then Gio whispered something in his awful Mexican accent just like he used for my trophy and I lost it.

"Betty!!" hissed my Dad. "Shhh! You two are like a couple of otters!" He turned up the volume on the TV and tried to ignore us.

"Come on, let's leave him alone," I said and got up. I stood there looking down at Gio who was blatantly ignoring me. "Uh, hello…?"

"Shh, quiet, Betty, I'm watching a show here," Gio whispered loudly and then he glanced up at me with a smirk before grabbing my wrist and pulling me back down onto the sofa with a thud. We were squashed even closer next to each other than before. I saw him challenge me with his eyes, daring me to stay right where I was. So I did. After all, I had been the one to ask for a date; he's the one who'd backed down. If he wanted to flirt now, then I was game. I gave him a smug half-smile and folded my arms in defiance.

Gio and I sat silently for several minutes. I wasn't even paying attention to the TV anymore, my mind was far from the living room, as I remembered another time I had sat so close to him. The night we saw _Wicked_. We were in the same position as that night, he to my left. I glanced at my right shoulder, trying to picture his arm around me, his fingers curled over my arm. I sighed. Gio noticed and asked,

"What happened, what'd I miss?" His eyes were on the TV.

"Uh…" I stalled, not willing to admit that I hadn't been paying attention. "I thought you understood Spanish, I mean, how did you get what was going on earlier?"

"Hey, my so-so Italian only gets me so far," he whispered back.

I inhaled—he smelled really good. The music swelled, marking the end of the episode. Dad mumbled something in Spanish at the TV and got up from his chair and stalked out of the room.

"Whatever I missed, your dad doesn't look happy about it…"

"Yeah, you know how that guy's father stole the girlfriend's baby and is making her marry him—well, the guy is stepping aside and actually going along with it. Dad hates it when they're playing a couple to be soul mates or whatever but they give up on each other instead of fighting to be together…" I thought of Henry and scooted away a little on the pretense of shifting to face Gio.

"Yeah. There's no passion in that. I don't like it either."

"Me either…" my voice drifted off and I looked away. I had a definite feeling that Gio knew about passion—and right then I felt that his would be of a very different sort than Henry's. I looked into Gio's eyes and tried to gauge his mood.

"G-d, Betty, what are you doing to me?" his voice was a hoarse whisper.

If he had kissed me right then, I'd have kissed him back and then some. I didn't know what was wrong with me. "I don't know! What am I doing?" I said, my voice high and shaky.

Gio pressed his lips together tightly and I caught a glimpse of his dimples before they disappeared again. His sigh was more like a groan and then he said cheerily, "Keeping me out late on a work night! Do you know how early I have to get up to drive into the city and be ready for the lunch rush?" He stood up then and when I continued to sit there dazed and staring, he grabbed my hands and pulled me to my feet. "So, what do ya think? You need another practice before this weekend or you think you got it?"

"_You're_ the expert," I looked down at our hands; he still hadn't let go. "What do _you_ think?"

"I think you want to go out there and show up some of these fashionistas."

"No, no, no. I just don't want to embarrass myself or Daniel."

Gio released his hold. "Well, I could help you practice once more before the week is up—" (at that, my face broke into a huge grin) "But, change of venue. I'm watching my sister's kids while she's at night school. Four little monsters but they love baseball and me. Piece of cake."

"Um, okay…but you know, if it's too much trouble, it'll be fine…if you'd rather not…"

"Come by the deli after work tomorrow and we'll go from there," he commanded. Gio looked to his left and right, like he was taking in my living room for the first time. The look on his face showed him to be far away in thought. I kind of looked around too, trying to see what could be bothering him, when suddenly his abrupt voice jerked me back to him. "I better go! Tell your dad dinner was great—it's just like something my mom makes, only when he uses comino, mom uses oregano!"

I walked him to the door and we said goodnight. I watched him go down the walk and through the gate. He stopped at the sidewalk just outside his van to get his keys out of his pocket and I saw him looking up at the sky. I could see his shoulders rise and fall as he took a deep breath; then he turned to look back and saw me still watching him. I gave an awkward little wave and closed the door.

What different feelings I had that night than the night of our first practice. As I leaned my back against the door and listened for his van, just as I had two days ago, I wasn't feeling the dread of another night of depressing music and self-pity. My step was light as I went up the stairs to my room.

_"I'm really sad…"_

"_Well…sad I think we can work with…"_

Gio had been doing exactly that and I felt a swell of gratitude for what he had accomplished so far.

**Part Four**

Work was work…my lightness of mood had carried over into the morning, but as the day had worn on, there were too many memories of Henry in that place and not enough to distract. By the workday's end, there was a tenseness in my whole body. Especially my right shoulder for some reason. I got my purse and my bag and headed to the ladies room to change my clothes. Amanda was inside at the mirror and Mark was with her--they stopped talking as soon as I walked in. Mark opened his mouth to say something snarky but I had already turned my back on them. I was out the door before it had even swung shut. I would just change at Gio's.

The deli was quiet, except for the radio that was on in the back. The jingle bells on the door signaled my arrival and Gio came out from the back. He was singing. He grinned at seeing me.

"Couldn't stay away, could you?" he smirked.

Already I felt a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. I groaned and plopped onto a stool at the counter, still clutching my bag and purse.

"What'd I say?"

"Yucky day. And I've got a kink in my shoulder. I think I wore out my batting arm yesterday."

Gio shook his head at me and sighed my name. "_Betty_, Betty…here, relax into my talented hands." He walked over and stood behind me and his fingers investigated my neck, working their way down across both shoulders. They retraced their steps, and then returned stronger back to my shoulder, only this time, his thumbs circled down my back and should blades. I couldn't relax; I was as tense as ever with his hands on me like that!

"You're not relaxing…" he nagged to me.

I rolled my shoulders and then dropped my head, willing myself to loosen up. "There you go…" he said softly. Gio's hands were strong, but gentle, and if I had been lying down, I'd have been lulled to sleep. "You have really thick hair," he said, trying to free his bracelet from some tangled strands. "Feel better?"

I turned to look him in the face. I thought, _"who is this guy and how is it that we ever met or became friends?"_

"Still pretty out of it, huh? Sleepness night--dreaming of me again?" he watched me with conceited eyes.

"_Gio_! Can you just show me where I can change?" I figured the best policy for dealing with his ego might be to just ignore it.

"Mmm,hmm. It's in the back, the door past the desk. I'll just finish up here…" He indicated for me to go first and followed me around the counter. I watched him over my shoulder and rolled my eyes at the way he swaggered. I thought he would have kept following but the doorbells jingled from some last minute customers.

As I rounded the desk, my curious eyes looked all around – this was the only other place besides his van that I'd seen that could give me any new clues to him. I surveyed the desktop; it was covered with a thick sheet of glass and all kinds of little notes or business cards were kept under its protection. There was a school portrait of his little sister, and several wallet-sized photos of other dark-haired, dark-eyed kids. And then I saw a picture of us—of me with Gio. I remembered when he took that picture with his cell phone the night of my birthday. He had a happy smile, but I noticed that it didn't reach into his eyes the way it usually did. He had tried so hard to salvage my pitiful birthday.

"…_you're such a great girl…you're so…good…and…nice…"_

And he was a great guy. I went into the bathroom and changed my clothes. When I came out, Gio was there, feet propped on the desk, clipboard in his hands; he was writing and didn't glance up to say, "Make sure you lock the safe this time."

"What?" I looked around and saw we weren't alone. I recognized the guy; he worked in the deli part-time.

"And don't be late on Saturday!" Gio continued bossing his employee back out to the front, so I decided just to wait in the back. I leaned against the desk, waiting and listening and thinking.

Gio returned; he squeezed past me before I had a chance to move out of his way and started rummaging in his desk drawer for something. I watched him from above, studying that round head of his and suddenly I had the strangest desire to rub my palm against that buzzed hairline. I bet it felt prickly.

Gio stood up, suddenly finished, and surprised me by putting a baseball cap over my head.

"Wh-what is this?" I laughed.

"One of my favorites—take good care of it!" he straightened the ball cap, his fingers brushing across my bangs, squashed under the hat. "Nice…" he laughed. "Come on, come on! We gotta go!" He nudged me to my feet and towards the back door. "The monsters are waiting!" He grabbed a cooler as we went out.

We headed into traffic. "So, where are we going?" I asked.

"Not so far from your place. Middle Village. They'll already be at my mom's, so we'll pick them up there."

"Will I get to meet her—your mom?"

"You couldn't avoid it, even if you wanted to—" Gio grinned, but I was quick to assure him that I didn't want to avoid his mother. He gave me a sidelong glance, "She wants to meet you…"

"Gio…_what_ did you tell her about me?" I asked accusingly; the thought made me nervous.

"Enough…"

"Ohhhh, _Gosh_…." I whined, wishing for an escape.

"Relax!"

"Easy for you to say."

Gio just smiled at me and turned on the radio. After several minutes, I couldn't stand it and I asked again, "So, what _did_ you tell her about me?"

"Well, which time? Because there was the day I first met you, and you got me fired. And then there was the time you vandalized my deli…"

I groaned loudly.

"And then Antonella told her all about the principal expelling you…"

"Oh, Gio!!" I was sincerely mortified.

He laughed, "No worries, B. I told her you were a good friend and a nice girl from the neighborhood. She likes that you're a writer. But I have to warn you, my family is not as…subtle…as yours around people. There's just too many of them. They say what's on their mind…and my cousin told everyone about the carriage I borrowed." Gio gave me a significant look. "Think you can handle it?"

The sincerity in his eyes made me feel a little better. "Sure…" I sounded hesitant.

"Just talk to her. You don't have to make a commitment," he teased.

**()()()**

Meeting Gio's family (well, some of them at least) had gone much easier than I had expected, and Gio really gave me a hard time about it later. His mother had been very friendly, but not more than friendly, although I caught her staring more than once with a euphoric look in her eyes. Gio had been…well, _Gio_….same as he ever was. Except…

Something had intrigued me…it was a moment, a look on his face while he held his small niece, her dark hair and eyes so much like his that she could have been his daughter, and I had a vision of what he would be as a father. That was the moment, and I will always be able to say exactly when it happened and why. Was it love? No. That would be premature. It was a shift. Away from the past, and Henry, and pointless what-ifs. It was a shift towards Gio.

I made a decision on the drive home—to somehow convince him that my feelings for him were real and worth exploring. I wasn't sure he would believe me; I wasn't even sure how I could explain it, but I was determined to try.

We were getting closer to my house. I really wanted to tell him how I felt before the night was over and I knew that I was running out of time. "Gio?"

"Yeah?"

"I had fun tonight…"

"Yeah…"

"Actually, I had fun with you all week, just in case I didn't say it before…"

"Good." He smiled at me, but I could see he was getting a worried look in his eyes.

I sighed, frustrated. "I don't know why this is so hard…"

"Look, Betty—" he began.

"I'm just going to tell you everything—I don't know what else I can do. I know you think I want you to be my rebound guy, and maybe I _was_ looking for a distraction when I asked you about going out sometime--but it doesn't have anything to do with how I felt about you _before_—"

"Hold on, hold on there—" Gio pulled the van over and came to a stop. He shifted the gear to Park. He left the engine running and turned to face me, skeptically. "What do you mean, _before_…?"

I grimaced, knowing I would be showing most of my cards and not totally ready to give him such an advantage. "Well, you're so worried that my feelings for you are a rebound thing, which would make sense if I had only noticed you after Henry and I broke up, but that's not the case!

"More."

"Okay, _fine_. Do you remember when you came over to help with Hilda's sink?"

"Yes. Go on."

"And you told us how you'd make every second count? How you'd listen to music from a rooftop or go out dancing…?"

"Don't forget the ice cream."

I ignored the ice cream comment. "I liked it. I liked dancing with you, even though you embarrass me. And I felt guilty when Henry came in and noticed how much fun I was having with you."

"More."

"Alright, the night you took Hilda out. I was jealous."

"Ahhh, I thought so. I wasn't sure; I thought maybe you were just being annoying."

I glared at him. "You were just as annoying! Constantly trying to show us up; you looked like you were having a _real_ good time with my sister!" There was still a twinge of that old jealousy.

"She didn't think so. And _that_ night, which I really don't care to remember, proves nothing." Gio stared obstinately.

I took a steadying breath, because it really had not been my intention to start an argument. "Well, she wasn't the only one who guessed it—you were a really touchy subject for Henry…"

"Heh!" Gio snorted proudly.

"I broke my promise to him—" I winced, wondering whether he would be angry or pleased—mad that I had promised to give him up or happy that I had not been able to.

"What did you promise?" Gio's eyes narrowed at me.

"Not to see you any more."

"When."

"Around the time I did the Phil Roth article and after..."

"Hmph," he grunted. He thought for a moment and then started nodding, "You know, I wondered what was up. I never saw you around, you stopped coming in, you didn't return my messages. Didn't seem like you."

"Well, just to be completely fair, Henry did not force me to stop seeing you. I offered because I thought it would make things easier. I'm sorry, I was just trying to do the right thing."

"Yeah, that sounds like you," he sounded annoyed.

"Well, I tried and I couldn't, so doesn't that say anything to you?"

"I liked it better when you were saying you liked dancing with me…this other stuff…._ehhh_, I dunno, but there is one thing you haven't said…"

"What, what-what?" I was really frustrated at that point. Nothing had come out like I'd planned.

"If he came back tomorrow…" Gio's eyes glistened from the street light. "Then it'd be so-long Gio and you'd go back with him, wouldn't you?"

I blinked, hesitating. I was a little stunned that he had hit upon the very thing I had asked myself only a few hours earlier. _He wouldn't believe my answer_. The moment that I hesitated was enough, and Gio put the van in drive and pulled back onto the street.

"You know, if I said 'no', that I had been living in a fantasy world the whole time I was with Henry, or that I couldn't forgive him, ever, for leaving me, or maybe that I had started thinking that Henry had actually been a rebound guy—it doesn't matter! You're not going to believe me! The truth is that I didn't love him enough to leave everything behind and move to Tucson to be with him. It's not like I didn't think of it—but that's not my dream. And I didn't love him enough to give up my dream."

I felt the tears spill down my cheeks and I hid my face in the window. I could see my house; I was home. Gio parked the van. I was too upset to deal with any more of his obnoxious comebacks and I didn't even look at him, I just unbuckled and got out of the van. I heard his door shut and his quick footsteps,

"Betty, wait!"

I wiped my face and turned back to him. The look on his face told me everything. He cared, this was not some jerk guy, this was one of the good guys and he didn't offer a fantasy, what he offered was real. I spoke before he could, "I just wanted you to believe me. I wanted you to know that I see the good things about you, that you have…qualities…that I admire. I'm not comparing you to him anymore, I just want to get to know you better…because I think you're a great guy and I don't want to lose out on something just because of…_bad timing_!"

"Can I talk now?"

I closed my eyes, sighing heavily. "What."

Gio kind of smacked his face, first the left cheek, then the right. He bent himself over, letting his arms just hang there and groaned, shaking off all the previous tension. He stood up and took a deep breath. "Okay, so here's the deal………I think I'm falling in-love with you." He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. "I have liked you for a very long time, Betty. I know I haven't really done a good job of showing it, but…G-d, you drive me crazy sometimes. You can be really annoying. You argue about everything. You think too much! It's _not_ a crush. I got over that a long time ago…but…I don't want to mess this up. It would be so easy to let you jump into this, but…it wouldn't be right—"

"I thought you said to stop worrying about the right way to be and just be!!" I took a step towards him.

He gazed at the top of my head, down my face and to our feet. "Since when do you listen to me? Anyway, why do you think I've been letting you hang around me all week? I want to be with you! And before you start thinking I'm some kind of noble guy or something, I'm not _just_ trying to protect you from yourself-- I'm mostly trying to protect myself from _you_! Now…" Gio grabbed my shoulders and pulled me against his chest. He spoke warm and breathy into my ear, "I'm going to kiss you, so _don't_ hit me—and then we say goodnight, and tomorrow when I see you, don't be batting your eyes at me, you got it, Suarez? This is gonna take some time…and I'm not going anywhere."

He put my arms around his neck, one by one and then he pulled me against him in a full embrace. With his arms wrapped around me, he nudged my face towards him with his nose, smiling against my cheek…and then he closed his eyes and kissed me. And I definitely kissed him back.

**()()()**

_To be continued, (to deal with Henry's return and proposal!)_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I didn't get much sleep that night. Being kissed silly kind of does that to a person. Gio was falling in-love with me?! When did _that_ start?! I was still feeling a little light-headed. He seemed to always bring out a side of me that I didn't even know was there – usually it was aggression – but lately…

There was a soft knock at my door and Hilda entered, "What was going on down there! —and don't you dare say '_it was nothing_' because I know you two were out there ten minutes and most of it, I didn't hear any talking going on!"

My mouth dropped open – I blinked stupidly – "What were you doing? Watching us from the window? Hilda!"

"Tsk, No! I didn't _watch_, I just had the window open in my room is all." Hilda put her hands on her hips, raising a knowing brow at me, "Now, spill it."

I told her about the day, everything that had to do with me and Gio.

"Is he a good kisser?" Hilda started to laugh, "Like I have to ask—you should see your face right now! You _never_ looked like that after seeing Henry. Just sayin'! Mmm, _mmm_, what did that boy do to you!"

I groaned into my pillow. I needed help. From a professional. "Many, many things—"

"Right there on the sidewalk!"

"Ew! I'm talking about him confusing me—distracting me—annoying me…" I sighed. "He makes me laugh. He makes me see things differently. I like him…"

"You _like_ him? That's…_nice_." Hilda looked a little disappointed.

"I'm so confused. One minute, I'm telling him I'm not ready for a serious relationship, and the next, I'm trying to convince him that I really do like him. What is wrong with me?"

"Nothing. Nothing is wrong with you."

"What if I just _think_ I'm getting over Henry and Gio's right and I'm just using him as a distraction?"

"Betty, I think you—"

I scooted off of my bed and went to my dresser to get my little white laptop. I opened it up and started typing.

"What are you going to do? Write? Now?"

"Nope. I…am going to find…ah-hah!" I smiled up at my sister and waved her over to see. "Online quiz. 'Is it a rebound?'"

"You're not going to figure out anything from _that_! That's just about as bad as making a list of Gio's pros and cons."

I raised my eyebrows. "Hmm, I didn't think about doing that…do you think I should?"

Hilda threw a pillow at me. "No! You don't need a list and you don't need that stupid quiz. You just need to think about how you felt when he was kissing you – and if you liked it, then keep doing that and quit thinking so much. Gio's a big boy. He can take care of himself."

Hilda gave me one of her 'shame on you' mom looks and said goodnight. I still took that quiz though—and it didn't help, just like she said. Totally inconclusive and vague. Well, I wasn't going to figure out anything in one night. I needed to be careful and take my time.

_Time_. Gio said he'd give me time. Maybe he was right.

So, I went to sleep at last. I knew what to do. I just needed to get past feeling like everything had to be mapped out in front of me; I needed to let go and just be. (_Thank you, Gio_) And the more I thought about it, especially the next morning as I got ready for work, the more I felt confident in the decision—I would take things slowly with Gio; I would examine my feelings over time and see how it went. Perfectly harmless.

**()()()()()()()**

I called Gio on my way to work; he was already at his deli and he sounded out of breath.

"_Hold on, Betty--Hey! Hang this up for me, okay_?"

I heard some rustling and Gio's radio in the background, and then a click.

"_Okay—I got it_!" Gio called out. The other line hung up and Gio's voice sounded much nearer. "_**Goooood**_ _morning_…" I could _hear_ him smiling through the phone.

"Hey! Uh, good morning. Are you busy?" I was confident. I had a plan.

"_Why… are you stopping by? I've got some muffins for my Eater, the ones you like so much_."

"I hate it when you call me that….the double chocolate?" He had distracted me again.

"_And the poppy seed. You want me to bring them up? I could probably break out of here at nine…Betty, I couldn't sleep last night_." Gio's voice was like velvet. My heart jumped. "_I have something to tell you…two things actually_—"

"I have something to tell you too!" I noticed the man next to me on the train leering at me, obviously listening in on my conversation.

"_Alright_, _ladies first_…"

Gio's voice caught my attention, but I didn't really want to discuss our relationship in front of the creepy guy. "No, you go…" I switched the cell phone to my other ear, away from the nosey eavesdropper.

"_Naw, go ahead,_"

"No, no, no, really—_please_—what is it you want to tell me." I was firm. _Confidence_!

Gio chuckled into my ear. "_Okay, okay! __**Your**__ way. But only because I am in a __**really**__ good mood this morning._" He paused. "_So look, I thought about this a lot. I don't believe in playing it safe! I'm not one of those people who just waits for things to happen. That's not me! So, forget what I said last night. You have persuaded me, Betty. You want to be with me and I want to be with you; it's not complicated._"

He sounded so _happy_! Now, I felt horrible! "Oh gosh…" I whined.

"_Yeah_..." His voice was soft. There was a short silence while I tried to think of what to tell him… "_So what did you want to tell me_?"

I stalled, making my way down the aisle to a seat with more privacy. "Uhhh….."

Gio sounded amused, "_What? A guy can't change his mind?_" He laughed softly. "_You were __**really**__ convincing last night_…"

"So were you!" I blurted out. "Gio, uh, I think you were right—what you said about _not_ jumping in and just taking our time…I want to take things _slow_."

"_Ahhhhhh, well, you know, slow can be good_…" he said suggestively.

I covered my eyes with my hand, shaking my head. I didn't want to encourage any more remarks out of him by letting him hear me laugh, so my voice was more business-like than it should have been, "Thank you, _Gio_. Well, I have some calls to make, so…I'll just talk to you later…"

"_At nine_."

I started to protest; I just wanted to focus on work for a _little_ while before letting him wreck my concentration. "Well—"

"_It's just coffee. And muffins_."

_I guess it would be a nice start to the day_… "Okay! See you at nine!" I had a big smile as I got off of the phone. That had gone well overall. Gio hadn't said '_I told you so_' for one thing! I was looking forward to a great day ahead of me—Gio was bringing me a treat, then I could focus on work for a while, hopefully the new issue of _Hot Flash_ would be out and I'd see my name in print, maybe grab some lunch with Gio—in the park—it was a beautiful day after all!

**()()()()()()()**

"He's going to Rome!!"

"_Whaaaaat? When? For how long??"_ Hilda's voice screeched through the receiver. I winced.

"Soon! And for like, a month! What happened to '_this is going to take time'_ and '_I'm not going anywhere_'??" I noticed some muffin crumbs on my blouse and dusted them off.

"_Maybe he meant, like, figuratively_…"

I sighed heavily. "Well, it must be nice to just go take a whole month off in _Italy_ and go _discover_ yourself! Meanwhile, the rest of us are actually working—I saw my article--Hilda, they totally rewrote it! Four pages of my work, just butchered down to a few paragraphs! I finally get to see my first published article, and it's a mess! They stuck it all the way in the back and I'm squished against the edge of a page about birthday gifts for your grandchildren!"

"_Oooooo. Well……… that's okay! Everybody has to start somewhere…I'm sure the next one will be much better_."

"If there is a next one! I think I'm going to go talk to Ms. Meade about it."

"_What about Gio?_"

"I'm meeting _him_ for lunch."

**()()()()()()()**

I tried to focus on work, but, oddly enough, there really wasn't very much to do aside from a few simple tasks and fielding calls for Daniel. This left me way too much time to think. I kept re-reading my article—the real version. I decided to go have a talk with Ms. Meade and find out what had happened. I expected her to tell me about catch phrases and appealing to readers with style and flare and snappy writing. I didn't expect her to ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I couldn't stop replaying the conversation in my head and whether I liked it or not, she was right. A person in her position had to take some risks to get there—how could I ever expect to run my own magazine and affect people's lives in any significant way if I always played it safe? I hadn't taken many risks in my life.

And look at Gio--_he_ didn't play it safe. He could have taken back his job instead of going into business on his own, but he didn't; he took a risk. And now look at him, he had already moved beyond the kiosk in the lobby to having his own deli. And now he was going to Rome—all according to a plan, turning his dreams into reality, finding his own flare and style. What had I done so far to discover myself as a writer? What big life experiences did I have? Where was I going to get _my_ flare? _How deflating_! The day just wasn't turning out like I had expected.

**()()()()()()()**

And then I went to lunch with Gio. When he asked me to go to Rome with him, I almost didn't believe him.

"_Are you serious?"_

"_Very…"_

It was like everything had been working together, pushing me towards something, but I hadn't known it. I wondered if I would have said '_Yes'_ to Gio if Claire Meade hadn't talked to me about taking risks with my life; or everything that Hilda had said about not wasting time; or even meeting Gio in the first place and seeing the way he took charge of his life. _I needed to do that_!

As Gio and I cut across a corner of Central Park with the two hugest grins on our faces, I felt lighthearted and excited. I was so busy chattering about what I was going to tell my family and ticket costs that I didn't notice we had stopped walking.

"Look, I know you're starving, but this will be worth the wait," Gio checked his watch. "The line usually goes pretty fast."

I saw there were about twenty people ahead of us on the sidewalk in front of a stand with smoke coming off the grill. My stomach growled. "Wow, that smells good! What is that?"

"Do you like Greek? These guys have a plate with grilled chicken—it's not even in the same _league_ as these other chicken guys—they put it over rice with a salad and don't forget the Tzatziki sauce. Mm! I know a guy in Jersey who comes all the way over here for this stuff."

"That does sound good. Is that what you're getting?"

"No. I'm getting a burger. Best grilled hamburgers in New York City! I was making chicken salad all morning…I'm kind of in the mood for something a little beefy. Now, _these_ guys make a great chicken salad—you thought you liked mine? They shake some kind of mystery spices over the top—it's addictive--I still haven't figured out what they put in that…"

I watched Gio as he talked about food – I felt his enthusiasm as he raved about quality ingredients, good portions, and what he hoped to discover in Rome. He was excited; I was excited; both of us throwing out ideas for what to do and see.

"We'll do things on the cheap side…" Gio said, and then he ordered for both of us and got out his wallet.

"Hey, hold on…here," I held out a five dollar bill and change, but Gio shook his head, smiling.

"I got this one. You can get breakfast--our first day in _Rome_!" Gio impulsively brushed my hair from my shoulder and leaned in to whisper excitedly in my ear. "It's going to be _amazing_!"

We took our lunch back to the park, found some shade, and sat down to eat. It was a beautiful day to be outside and for a while, neither of us spoke; we just ate our food in a sort of excited silence. Already my mind was popping with ideas for things to experience and then write about. I thought about everything I had ever seen or heard about the city of Rome, most of which was from movies. Romantic visions whirred around in my head, and as the images came into focus, I saw myself there… with Gio. My insides fluttered abruptly. I suddenly felt very self-conscious sitting next to him, this _guy_, who I had to admit, I didn't really know, at least not _really_ well …and who I was now planning to run off with on a crazy adventure across the world! It definitely felt a little crazy, but somehow, it just felt _right_.

Gio had finished his burger; he crumpled up his paper plate and napkin and set it beside him on the grass. He leaned against the tree, stretching his legs. "You know, Betty, I always wanted to go to Italy…it's been in the back of my mind lately, like a voice or something, telling me '_it's time_.' When I went to get my passport, it still didn't sink in that I was really gonna do it. And I sure never thought I'd be going with you! Well…that's not exactly true. I _thought_ about it." Gio gave me a sideways glance and bumped his shoulder into mine. "I loved the look on your face when I asked you--_ha_!"

I stopped mid-chew. "Why--what did I look like?" I mumbled through my napkin.

Gio laughed again, his eyebrows raised, amused. "Kind of like that." His eyes focused on something on my face. "Hold still."

He leaned towards me and dabbed my cheek with a napkin. His face was so close for that moment, I could smell the soap and citrus scent that was uniquely his. Suddenly those quick, dark eyes of his looked directly into mine—and I thought, '_he's going to kiss me.' _I set my bowl down beside me without looking away and leaned towards him slightly.

"Oh no," Gio groaned.

I blinked stupidly. "What??"

"You need a passport…"

I let out a huge breath and rolled my eyes. What a waste of a moment! I reached up and patted the top of his prickly buzzed head. "Well, I guess it's a good thing Daniel made sure I got one right after I started working at Mode!"

Gio's head started nodding, slowly. "_Nice_…I love it when a plan comes together. Ooo, and I liked what you were doing to my head—do it again," he ordered. His bossiness made me smile…what was annoying was now becoming…_cute_? _Oh well, I couldn't help it._

I leaned against the tree. "Come here…" I motioned for him to lay his head on my lap, which he was very willing to do, and then I kneaded and scratched and stroked his round, bristly head. He folded his hands across his chest and gave me a spoiled smile before he closed his eyes.

"I could get used to this…" he said.

"Yeah, I bet." I smirked

"You like it too…admit it. You've been dying to put your hands in my hair…"

"What hair? You shaved it all off!"

"I thought you said you liked it!" Gio opened his eyes, raising his brow skeptically.

"Yes, I like it! Now would you be quiet? I'm trying to be nice to you…"

Gio laughed quietly to himself, closing his eyes. "_Finally_." He was silent a few moments and then he said, "We should go see the Trevi Fountain-- it's a must for couples and lovers. You can throw in a coin and you're guaranteed to return to Rome. How's that for _exploratory phase_? Just be careful you don't throw _two_ because then we'll have to get married and I know you said you want to take things slow." Gio's dimples made a quick appearance.

He was such a brat, so why was I grinning like an idiot? I wanted to rest my hands somewhere, but I felt a little awkward with where to put them. Without opening his eyes, Gio reached for my right hand and placed it on his chest and held it there. "You should make a list… of things you want to do." He didn't speak for a minute. "The Pantheon…would be… good…"

Gio's breathing was steady and slow--he was drifting off to sleep. I stared at the hand he held over mine and just had to shake my head. I was happy! And this was crazy! Rome? With Gio? Now, just like that?

I was going to stop questioning it. Yes, I was taking a risk, but it felt so good. I took a deep breath and sighed in half-wonder, half-delight.

"Why did you sigh?" Gio's voice startled me. He was looking at me with a lazy, content look in his eyes.

I shrugged my shoulders, smiling, "I don't know."

Gio sat up and scooted around to face me. "Don't know, huh? Well…" He leaned in towards me. "If you were just gonna make a guess, then?"

I laughed. "Um, I guess…because I'm happy?"

"That's what I like to hear," he said, smiling. He gave me a quick kiss on the lips before getting to his feet. "Come on, B, the weekend's not here yet. I gotta get back to work, and you gotta get back so you can talk to Daniel about when we can leave."

I have to say, I may have been a _little_ bit giddy on the walk back to the Meade building. As we walked, we discussed a few details—well, it was more like a discussion between me and myself, with Gio trying to keep up with my pace, and obviously amused.

I chattered about temps and to-do lists, ticket prices and exchange rates. Before I knew it, we were in front of my building.

"Heyyy, not so fast." Gio's fingers caught my elbow, brushing down my arm to grab my hand. He gave my hand a little tug towards him.

I tucked my chin, looking down, smiling and embarrassed that I had been about to run off--but seriously, this was like, the biggest news and I couldn't wait to tell everyone. "Sorry…I guess I'm a little excited."

Gio smiled back at me. And then I had the craziest impulse—I kissed him—and I took him completely by surprise. He responded at first but when I stepped in closer to him and put my hands against his chest, his arms went limp. I opened my eyes, pulling away, wondering what was wrong. His face was devoid of any smile and his eyes penetrated mine. "Not bad, Suarez. Not bad at all."

A slow, satisfied, and slightly evil grin swept over my face. "I guess that makes us even then…"

Gio blinked. "Even? Oh, no, no, no—I don't think so. Better try again." He reached for me.

I backed away, laughing.

"Ahhhh, I knew it! You're one of _those_!" Gio started shaking his head, his dimples deepening. I turned on my heel and waved as I started walking towards the building; he was still talking. "Oh, and _thanks_ for making me late –-- 'ppreciate ya!" I didn't respond, trying to hold in my laughter. "I'll be working late tonight now, just in case you wanted to know!"

I stopped right in front of the door. It was my turn to give him a smug smile, "Then I guess I'll see you tomorrow at the game, huh?"

"_Right_."

I giggled. "Or maybe I'll stop by before I go home tonight…"

"Enter at your own risk," he warned. He smiled before turning back down the street.

_Now to tell everyone my news!_

**()()()()()()()**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I…was going…to Rome! I…was going…to _ROME_! Me! In Rome! Going to Rome, going to Rome!

And, not to point out the obvious, but…

I don't think anyone would call this _playing it safe_. Ah, yes, Ms. Meade? I'll have something for your magazine sometime next month, when I get back from ROME…what's that? Well, thank you for your concern, but really, that would be a little _too safe_ for _me_. I'm all about adventure…and taking risks…and discovery…and…exploring. I'm an explorer.

"_Ahhh, okay explorer, so when can I take you out on an official first date?"_

_Gio._ I grinned. _**Still**__ distracting me! _But, I hadn't felt this happy in a long, long time. Rome, Rome, Rome, I'm going to Rome…where was that phone number for the temp agency, ah, there it was…Gio and I…me and Gio…my Gio…going to Rome…for a month… "Hello, Barbara, this is Betty Saurez, assistant to Daniel Meade at Mode, we'll be needing Angela for a month. Soon. I'm going out of town…out of the country…I'm going to Rome for a month…call me back as soon as you get this message."… Deeee, deee, deeee, going to Rome…mmm, mmm, mmm, going to Rome…

That was pretty much how the rest of my day went. And I did manage to get things done around the office. If anything, I worked even more quickly and more efficiently than I had that morning—actually, that week—maybe even that whole month! The days of sighing and staring at my computer screen or obsessively checking my email and my voice-mail were gone. So gone.

I finished up for the day and left the Meade building with a big smile on my face. I couldn't help it. Maybe it wasn't fair, Daniel hadn't been smiling when he left the office, having just had the shock of his life, but I knew his mom and Alexis would help him through it, whatever the results of that DNA test, and he'd be fine. No, it was time I felt happy and I told myself everything was going to work out.

I walked into Gio's Deli still smiling. He was standing behind the counter, a pristine white apron around his neck, taking an order from a customer. He glanced over at me and his quick grin caused his customer to turn and look in my direction. I took a seat by the window underneath that neon smiling pickle and got out my laptop, but all of my attention was on Gio.

I tapped my fingers impatiently against my keyboard. When Gio's customer was finally out the door, I hopped down from my seat and hurried over to the counter. Gio watched me with a lazy smirk.

"_Hey,_ Betty…"

"That was the slowest order ever…_Hi_…so, are you done here? Isn't it closing time? I told Daniel…"

"I've had slower; No; not for another half an hour; and what'd he say?" Gio had answered each one of my eager questions as he came around the counter walking up to me. He was practically about to walk into me, so I took a step back, then another, and another, until I felt the wall against my back. Gio stopped inches from me.

"What did Daniel say…_well_…" I wasn't sure what to do with my hands; I felt odd just letting them hang at my sides. I folded my arms across my chest, effectively blocking him.

His eyes took note of my body language and he raised a questioning brow at me. "Well…?" he paused, folding his arms to mirror me.

I dropped my hands to my hips in a no-nonsense-stance. "Well…he didn't say much of anything about me leaving for a month…"

"That doesn't sound good," Gio grimaced a bit.

"Noooo, it will be _fine_, see, he just had a really crazy day, and I shouldn't be talking about it, so don't say anything, but he sort of had a _family_ issue come up during lunch. My news just didn't even compare. I'm not even sure he'll remember what I said tomorrow," I laughed awkwardly.

Gio just eyed me strangely. "Huh. But it'll be fine…?"

"It's totally fine!" I smiled brightly.

"Have you been like this all day?" he asked, leaning in more closely. Those arrogant eyes of his inspected mine and then to my surprise, he sniffed twice and said, "You haven't been drinking, have you?"

"WHAT?" I cried, dumbfounded, eyes wide. Unthinking, I raised my hand to shield my mouth.

His mouth twitched only slightly and then he eyed me with mock-suspicion. "You've been laying off that whacked-out perfume, right?"

All I could do was gape at him.

He raised his hands in surrender, "What? You're just a little bit…_hyper_." He grasped my chin with gentle fingers and tilted my face up just enough… A very slow, very naughty smile pulled one corner of his mouth. "Your cheeks are…_pink_. And you're kind of…_panting_. Hmm, pupils dilated. So, if you're _not_ under the influence, Betty, well…then I can think of only one other reason…"

I knew what he was going to say, especially because of the look on his face; I'd watched a couple of shows on the educational channels explaining the science behind reproduction and arousal and pheromones and all of that. I was sure that's what he was getting at, just like Gio to go pointing out the embarrassing.

"Oh, so you're an expert on my eyes now too? You're so full of it," I snorted. "It's not like you can even see the difference between my iris and my pupils anyway. Tch!" I rolled my eyes. In less than five minutes, he'd made me roll my eyes like I was thirteen. Now I was feeling nervous and I didn't know where to look.

Gio's thumb grazed my cheek before letting go of my chin. "So, you're not going to ask me what I was thinking. Fine. Maybe I'm not an expert on _reading_ them, not _yet_, but I know the difference between dark brown and black. And _your_ eyes…" His voice compelled me to make eye contact again. He rested a hand against the wall behind me, "…are dark brown. Like mine."

Gio bent his head forward, bringing his mouth against my hair, next to my ear. I turned my face towards him, just slightly; sensing my body's reaction to him, which was effectively blocking my pride or insecurity. Okay, maybe _now_ I was panting…

"I still have half an hour before I can turn off that 'Open' sign. So, will you stop distracting me, B?" Gio's nose caressed my temple for a moment before I realized this was all tease.

"Wait a second! Okay, _I _am distracting _you_? Hah!" It was too ridiculous. I had to laugh. I saw him smirking back at me. "Just go and do whatever it is that you have to do so we can go, okay?"

Gio's grin widened. He shifted his weight from one leg to the other, his hips leaning into mine. "Impatient little thing! _Yeow_!"

I had poked him under his ribs with my finger. Hard. I blinked nonchalantly and brushed past him. "Okay, so I've been researching airfares…" I retrieved my laptop and brought it over to the counter and pulled up a stool. Gio had turned so he could see me, but otherwise he hadn't budged. I barely glanced at him, feeling nervous and embarrassed all over again…kissing was one thing, but his body pressed against mine felt…well, it felt intimate. Thrilling, yes, to let my mind wander down that path, but I hadn't even been on a first date with him yet. I had no business thinking what I'd been thinking just moments ago. And my embarrassment came from a fear that he might read those thoughts, as he so often did with me, if I wasn't careful. So, I avoided his eyes and rambled some more. "There's a site where you can just name the price you think you should pay, but you're obligated to take the ticket if they have it at that price, so who knows what time we'd leave or how many stops or layovers we'd get stuck with. So maybe it's better to pay for convenience and pick the flight we want…" My rambling about ticket prices continued for another minute before Gio stopped staring and walked with his usual swagger back to the other side of the counter. He lifted a hand to the back of his neck and rubbed. My eyes glazed over, imagining my lips against that skin right below his shirtsleeve, right along that bicep…_What the -–!_ _Snap out of it, lunatic!_

"Just so long as I get the aisle," he said before disappearing into the back.

I started playing with departure dates and times, just plugging them in to see what kind of airfares I'd get, when I heard the bells signaling someone had come into the deli. I was so focused though, I didn't look to see who it was, but less than a minute later, Gio was coming from the back. I heard him before I saw him.

"I know this lady at a travel agency, she might be able to—-"

I glanced up quickly at Gio when he stopped talking so abruptly. He looked serious, but kind of mad. He looked past me to whoever had come in a moment ago and asked a pretty terse, "Can I help you?"

I finally turned around to see what Gio's problem with the person could be and saw a regular looking guy standing there, reading the chalk board menu.

"Still tryin' to decide," he said.

Gio nodded and walked over to me, closing my laptop as he talked, "Take your time…" He grasped my hand and tugged his head back, motioning me to come with him. I got up, and went around to the other side of the counter, but I felt a bit puzzled. Gio handed me the laptop and quietly told me to go wait at his desk. So I did.

It was pretty quiet in the back. Eventually I heard the bells jingle from the deli's front door. A minute later, I heard the volume on Gio's radio go up a little more, and then some clanging and other busy-noises. I relaxed more into Gio's office chair and then that picture of us under the desk-glass caught my eye again. I felt myself smile. Just then, he walked through with his arms full, on his way to the cooler. I jumped up to get the cooler door for him.

He winked as he passed me, "Thanks, B!"

"No problem," I said, smiling after him. I stood in the doorway watching him rotate some inventory. "So, what was going on before with that guy?"

Gio stopped what he was doing to look at me. "I didn't like the way he was looking at you," he said, matter-of-factly. He went back to what he had been doing.

I frowned, confused. "How was he looking at me?"

"He was a creep."

"He looked completely normal to me. He was wearing a tie…"

Gio glanced at me over his shoulder and shook his head. "Man, you like to argue with me!" He wadded up some used plastic wrap from off the shelves and grabbed a couple of empty boxes before leaving. I followed him.

"I don't argue with you _that_ much," I insisted a bit defensively.

"You're arguing now!" he laughed at me. "Hey, I'm not complaining. It used to annoy me…I think…" Gio's eyes looked off in no particular direction, like he was remembering. And then he snapped out of it. "Crazy thing is, I like it."

Gio's eyebrows darted suggestively and then he picked up a box and hauled it to a storage closet. I watched him for a moment as he got out a broom and headed out to the front. Again, I followed him. I saw that he'd already turned off the 'Open' sign and locked the front door. He must have closed early, right after that last customer.

"Well, I guess that explains why you pick so many fights with me then," I countered, while at the same time questioning why I felt the need to.

"Ah, but it doesn't explain why you always rise to the occasion," he shot back, pushing the broom right next to my shoes. I stepped quickly out of his way as he made a second pass. He made a low chuckle. "Come on back; I'm done in here. You want something to drink before I turn off the lights?"

I smiled and shook my head. He smiled back at me before following me out of the front of the deli.

"I haven't forgotten that you've got some pay-back coming your way."

I gasped silently and sat down at his desk. I opened up my laptop, peering up at him over the top of the screen. The shameless way he stared back at me made my insides lurch. "Don't you have some work to do?"

"Oh, playing it shy now? Okay. But, I'm almost done, so don't get too comfortable."

Gio turned and headed towards the opposite wall. He filled a mop bucket and I watched him as he made the small floor space shine. I didn't want to look away; there was no reason I had to, I had no commitments, no promises to keep, I was free to look. So I let myself appreciate what I had been too guilty to dwell on times before.

He moved well. Like movement was natural to him. Like he knew his body and was comfortable in it. It was an attractive quality. The memory of those hips leaning into mine flashed in front of my mind's eye. _We fit._ Hilda had noticed; she had said something about it that day when he had helped with her sink and danced with me. But I had been with Henry and had quickly brushed such nonsense aside. _Nonsense? Yeah, right._ And there was Henry, back in my thoughts, again. Before I could block the thought, a comparison had sprung to mind: one, a tall, lean and long kind of strength; the other, strong but compact. Both attractive, just different. Henry's height had always made me feel small and protected. That had a certain…allure. But, it was definitely more comfortable to kiss someone without craning my neck the entire time. Did I feel less safe or protected in Gio's arms? I winced a little at that mental image, a fleeting moment of awkwardness with my new feelings. I just wasn't used to him yet. To be expected. Anyway, it wasn't that I felt unsafe with Gio. How did I feel? I guess I felt like we were on more equal footing, that he didn't feel the need to _constantly_ be my hero. And now I was on to something…

How many times had Henry tried to save me or fix my problems or protect me from anything or anyone unpleasant? While Gio's M.O. had always been to listen, commiserate, and basically tell me to quit whining and do something about it. He didn't make me feel safe-the opposite, I was a little scared actually, because Gio challenged me to go beyond safe.

I was having an epiphany.

With Henry, I would have filled a certain comfortable role; with Gio, I would define that role.

"Hello? Earth to Betty?" Gio's eyes were laughing. He had finished with the mop, washed, and was now wadding up a paper towel. He made a shot for the wastebasket behind his desk and missed.

I smiled, glad he wasn't making a big deal about either my ogling or my zoning, and reached for the paper towel.

"I got it," Gio was quickly next to me. He got down on his knees, swiped up the paper towel, and then inched his way right up to his desk chair. He swiveled me to face him and leaned in against my knees.

I knew I was staring; I was at least aware enough to realize it. He reached past me, making a perfect toss. Close-range, hard to miss. Kind of like me at that moment.

Gio's voice came out like a frustrated whine, "_Betty_…_come_ _here_." When all I could do was stare, he must have decided he'd had enough. Both hands reached up to pull my face down to his and then he was kissing me. Really kissing me. None of that slow, playful stuff that he'd teased me with against the deli wall. This was urgent, prying, sucking my breath away kissing. When my hands reached for the back of his neck, he let go of my face and gripped my skirt at my knees. For a split-second, I froze, thinking he was about to seriously invade my space, but he didn't push. His fingers trailed down from my knees and wrapped around the sides of the chair. And I was back in it. Gio sensed my return and groaned into my mouth. When our teeth clanged together, I could feel his chuckle on my lips. I had to laugh too.

My fingers rubbed against the back of his neck, into his prickly hairline. The humor had replaced the lust as we gazed at each other. "I think I figured out why you smell like soap and citrus," I said, smiling. _Wow, he had nice eyes…kind, intelligent, excited…_

Gio groaned and hung his head; he didn't say anything.

"It's the soap you keep here."

"Could be worse." Gio's head popped up and he was leaning into me again. "Could be _better_. Let's get out of here, B." Gio stood up and put out his hand. "Come on. I'll drop you at your house, run home for a quick shower and change of scent—-"

I took Gio's hand and he pulled me up against him. My other hand wound itself around his apron strap. I licked my lips. _What? I couldn't help it!_

"-I'll pick you right back up and we'll go get dinner. There's this Italian place I've been dying to try. What do you say?"

I smiled up at him. No, I beamed. "A date?"

"Uh-uh-uh, official first date is Rome. We can call this stage two of our _exploratory_ _phase_." Gio put his arms around me and rocked me into his chest. My face sought out his neck and as I experimentally allowed my nose to _just_ graze his ear lobe, I stiffened. "Don't worry, B. Just dinner. I don't wanna wear you out right before your big game tomorrow."

My head jerked up to look him in the eye. He smirked. Then he winked. Before I could voice any trumped-up indignation at another Gio-innuendo, he had spun me around to face my sleeping laptop. With focus, he made quick work of locking up for the night and leading me out the back door to his van.

The drive from the city to my neighborhood was happy. We talked. We laughed. We anticipated. I guess I was a little eager to continue the evening, and definitely a bit distracted thinking about making an exciting announcement about Rome to my family, because as soon as we reached my house, I hopped out of his van without a goodbye kiss. I hurried back to open the van door and lean against the seat, laughing. There really was no way for him to lean far enough over to reach me, and I was just as content to take in his all-knowing smile and those conceited but happy eyes. My voice was high and chipper as I asked him how long I had.

"Not long," he said. "I'll give you a call before I leave. Just to make sure you're ready. Don't make me wait, Suarez…" Gio's eyebrows lifted in challenge.

I shook my head, smiling, and shut the van door. As I hurried up the steps, I knew Gio was watching from behind the wheel, waiting to see me safely inside. I threw one last happy glance his way before disappearing into my home.

()()()()()()()()()()()()

**(a/n: Um, kind of embarrassed to be updating this at all. I have wished many times I'd left my first post as a one-shot. But I didn't *sigh* and it really bugs me to leave something incomplete. I've got 3.5 kids, little ones, time-consumers, and finding the time to write is unreal. Add that to the way Ugly Betty ended the Getty storyline (BOO!) and then the series, kind of hard to be motivated to write my ideal Getty love story with that letdown. For my own sake of feeling like I finished something, I'll try to complete this, but I just know it's not going to be quickly done. So wishing I'd left it as a one-shot. My apologies to all the kind reviewers. Seriously. )**


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